Blue Jay Exterior Renovations has been awarded an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Even though a company’s BBB rating is important, an A+ BBB by itself doesn’t tell the whole story. In this article, we’ll explain the BBB rating system, and what else you might want to consider when selecting a contractor.
First, lets take a look at the BBB rating system itself:
What goes into a BBB rating?
The Better Business Bureau determines its ratings based on 7 factors:
Complaint history: Are there unanswered complaints in the system?
Type of business: Is the business structure of the company itself legally allowed?
Time in business: How long has the company been operating?
Transparency: Is the company honest about who they are and what they do?
BBB commitments: Has the company failed to honour past BBB rulings?
Licensing issues: Is the company operating with the correct competency licenses?
Advertising: Does the company advertise honestly, particularly concerning their BBB status?
These are all important points to consider, but there are a few blind spots:
Customer satisfaction: The BBB does keep good track of customer complaints, but even a company with zero complaints might not have great customer service. Think of it this way: a company that usually does an OK job but leaves their customers a little bit annoyed with some aspects of the project won’t get customer complaints, but they might not be your first pick as a contractor.
In addition to a company’s BBB rating, take a long look at their review history as well. BBB reviews are particularly valuable: because they are from verified customers, it’s essentially impossible for a contractor to write their own fake reviews. If a company has a bunch of great verified reviews to go along with an A+ rating, it’s usually a good sign.
Licensing: The BBB checks to see if accredited contractors have their required licenses and tickets, but in industries that don’t have a recognized trade (such as the siding industry) there is nothing for the BBB to verify. The BBB also can’t check to see if a company is operating legally as a prepaid contractor.
Insurance, safety, and WCB: Because the BBB is built to monitor companies and businesses of all types, there are a few important contractor specific items that don’t get accounted for. Always make sure that any contractor you hire has a good safety record, a WCB account in good standing, and commercial liability insurance to protect your home.
Right Scope of Work: Just because a company has an A+ rating with the BBB doesn’t mean that they’ve earned that rating doing the work that they’re advertising for. If a roofing company with an A+ rating decided to start installing siding, they would still be able to advertise their A+ rating for their siding division, even though they don’t have much experience in the field.
Number of A+ contractors: Think back to your high school or university days to remember the way a grading scale usually works. In a given class, you’ll find a couple A+ students, a few more A and A- ones, more Bs and Cs, a few Ds and a couple of Fs. That’s not how it works for BBB ratings.
We searched the BBB database for all siding contractors in the Edmonton area, and here’s what we found:
BBB ratings for siding contractors
As you can see from the chart above, more than 75% of the siding contractors listed on the BBB website have an A+ rating. This includes dozens of contractors that have been rated A+ without having first been accredited. Clearly an A+ rating is not the most difficult bar to clear.
Does this mean that the BBB rating system is bad?
Of course not! BBB ratings are extremely valuable to help consumers spot fraudulent rip-off artist type companies. It’s just important to keep in mind that in the world of home renovations, an A or an A+ BBB rating is pretty much the minimum standard for any reputable contractor.